Saturday: Purim is on Saturday, so you can bet that there will be some sugary baking going on. I’ll make some apricot and blueberry Hamantaschen. Hamantashen are a buttery fruit filled pastry that is quite yummy!

It is FINALLY the weekend!! Woohoo!!! Time to sleep in folks! Once you get settled in with your cup of coffee and the sleep out of your eyes, I hope you enjoy all the shares I have for you today.

Run to the Finish is hosting a Spring Bootie Buster Challenge for the first this year!! The challenge will run from March 4th to April 21st. You know I already signed up for it! Plus ALL PARTICIPANTS will be receiving a pair of Lock Laces!! I did the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge, loved it, and took away so much from it. Not to mention some totally awesome Oakley workout clothing that I won (see picture to right). I highly encourage you to join me in the Spring Challenge. You will find yourself more motivated than ever to stay healthy and fit. When you sign up put down that From Florida to North Dakota sent ya!

Check out these recipes for homemade gummy bears without all the chemicals. Taralynn has come up with several gummy recipes that I’m dying to try out myself.

These Blueberry Yogurt Cookies by La Fuji Mama look yummy and healthy. This recipe uses Greek yogurt and NO butter or oil!

I’m a big fan of things that glow, so of course I pinned this fun kid project as soon as I saw it. Glowing a Jeweled Rose has a great project for you and your kids with the Glowing Rainbow Eruptions. If you have a black light it is even cooler!

I am a follower of the Food Babe, and I am so thankful for all the research she does to help keep the rest of us informed about what is actually in our foods and drinks. One post I point people to is the Low Calorie Beverages Will Kill You Before They Solve Obesity article. Please read it. It will open your eyes to a lot of ingredients that are in your beverages and foods. What did you think after reading her article?

Itz Linz has a great full body workout that consists of 10 exercises with 15 reps each. The above pic is only part of the workout, and to get the rest of it you have to go to Linz’s blog and fall in love with her #15 Full Body Circuit Workout!! I’ve done this workout several times myself.

I’m sitting here at the Minneapolis airport at 8 pm hoping and praying that my late night flight to Minot has not been canceled due to this wonderful storm circling around Minnesota and North Dakota. All the flights to Fargo have been canceled, but I have high hopes for my flight…at least I think I do.

Since I have a long layover, I figured I should work on our menu for this week.

Monday: Turkey Breast Meatballs as subs or with pasta. I’ll let hubby and son choose which.

Tuesday: Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken from Six Sisters’ Stuff. This is my one new “pin” recipe to try this week. It looks yummy and easy to make!

Wednesday: Easy Barbeque Crock Pot Beef Brisket…This is my own recipe that is a family pleaser. I also know that I’m making two Crock Pot meals back to back, but I’ve got a majorly busy week ahead of me, and I’m going to need easy go-to meals.

Thursday: Ah Valentines Day…I really have no clue on this one for dinner. I’m still thinking about it, but in the words of my aunt, “Life’s too short. Eat dessert first.” Therefore, I’m making either a decadent buttermilk chocolate cake or molten heart chocolate cupcakes. These are both new “pins” that I’ve never tried before. I’m not sure which one I’ll make…I’ll let my little man decide.

Friday or Saturday: Fish Tacos! I know I’ll be craving some summer food after my short trip to Florida, and what is better than fish tacos! This is my own recipe that uses tilapia, and I make a radish and mango salsa/slaw to to with it.

I’ll have more on my Florida travels for you next week (aerial yoga was amazing and I cannot wait to share the pictures with you), but today is Saturday, so that means Saturday Shares!!! It is time for me to share my internet finds with you! I hope you like them, enjoy them, are moved and motivated by them.

Remember that virtual Bacon 5K Race I shared last Saturday? Well part of the “bacon challenge” is to eat bacon after or during your run, jog, or walk. Everyone is posting different bacon recipes on the Facebook page for the race, and this maple bacon cupcake recipe is my choice!

Out of the Box Food blog offers fresh alternatives to processed kid food, and they have another winning recipe with this corn dog recipe.

The Frugal Village has posted a ton of great at home kid recipes for moon sand, flubber, sidewalk paint, window paint, play dough, tub soap paint, finger paint and more! These recipes make for a cheap and fun way to have fun and create with your children on winter days when you are stuck indoors.

Since I was traveling and leaving the hubby at home and in charge of everything, I put together a “home management” binder for him in case of an emergency. Here are the sites with free printouts that I used to put together my own binder. Just click on the picture to go to the blogs they came from.

IHeart Organizing no longer has her pintables for free. Instead I used her examples from her etsy shop to create my own pintables, since I didn’t need everything she had and wanted to add some categories of my own to spreadsheets.

This weeks menu will be short, since I’m heading to Florida Wednesday morning!! Woohoo! Warm weather here I come!!!

I offered to make extra meals for my husband and son, but Bill said he would do all the cooking on his own while I’m gone. Still, I will stock the fridge with a ton of sandwich meat just in case. Plus I’m sure there will be a night of breakfast for dinner while I’m gone.

I’m making two large meals on Monday and Tuesday, so the boys will have a lot of leftovers.

Monday: Crock pot Chicken Tacos This is my own recipe based off of all the other variations on Pinterest. I just throw 6-8 chicken breasts into the crock pot, coat them with my taco/fajita seasoning mix, add a 1 1/2 cups of fresh salsa, and cook on high for 4-5 hours. It will literally fall apart. The great thing about this chicken recipe is that it can be turned into enchiladas or quesadillas too!

I finished Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand! Our book club met last Monday to discuss Unbroken, and everyone absolutely loved it! This book has made my Must Read Before You Die list. This story truly showed what, “The power and strength of the human body and mind and soul can handle in extreme situations.” You will find yourself immersed in the Pacific War and unable to let go. There is love, forgiveness, trials, and heartache. Hillenbrand does an amazing job capturing Louis Zamparini’s life in her latest novel.

Looking for something fun to do at home with your kids? Domestic Charm has come up with a great Glow-in-the-Dark Slime recipe that will allow your kids to be creative without spending a bunch of money! All the ingredients can be found at your local craft store too!

Homemade Cheez Its from Cooking a la Mel! They’re super easy and you only need four ingredients (including salt). No dyes, nothing artificial and the recipe uses whole wheat flour. This is a recipe I make quite a bit in our home.

Inaugural Virtual Bacon Challenge and 5K! This is a virtual run and bacon challenge from March 8, 2013 through March 17, 2013. The cost is $30.00 for adults and children and includes a fantastic FINISHER MEDAL!!!!!! This is a great chance to involve children and get them interested in something ‘outside the box’!!! Participants will complete 3.1 miles over the 10 days and eat 3 pieces of bacon while doing so (if you break up your run, you don’t need to eat bacon every time you run….although it’s bacon, why not??) Proceeds go to the The New England Aquarium’s hands-on, traveling education programs.

Menu planners and grocery shopping lists are a great way to help you plan out your groceries and healthy/clean eating for the week. Below are some great free printable planners you can use. Just click on the planner to go to the web site to print it out!

Well, it is Monday. Where in the world does the weekend go? I hope everyone out there had a great weekend. I was able to go outside for a run on Saturday and do one of my 13 in 2013 races. We had quite the heat wave that day and got up to 27 degrees! Did you run a race over the weekend?

I also signed up for a new virtual 5K. Fit, Fab, & Lean is hosting a virtual 5K or Half Marathon. All the proceeds will go to the American Cancer Society. This medal looks awesome, and it has glitter and stained glass too!

This morning I made a new smoothie. I tried adding frozen peaches to my smoothie and it came out great! I was a little nervous, since we were out of Greek yogurt…a staple in all my smoothies. I’m calling it my Rainbow Smoothie, since it looked like a rainbow before I blended it up. Isn’t it pretty?

Rainbow Protein Smoothie

Ingredients:

frozen blueberries

frozen diced strawberries

frozen banana slices

frozen diced peaches

protein powder

spinach

ground flax seed

skim milk

Today I’m doing Tina’s Best Body Bootcamp workout. Tina has really been giving us some amazing workouts this round, and I love it when I’m challenged! I’m also adding some extra burpees in there for Rita’s Burpee Mile in the end of March. Right now I can burpee my way across the length of our house. I’m hoping to really increase my distance each day.

The Giveaway!!!

Quite a few of you commented on Rita’s Burpee Mile challenge and wished her luck. She loved all your comments and says a big Thank You! A lot of you also commented on the “Real Women Do Burpees” t-shirt too. Well, guess what!?! I’m gonna give one of those t-shirts away! That is right, one lucky lady will win the burpee shirt! Here is how you can win:

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Welcome!

My name is Andrea and I am a mom, fitness instructor, breast cancer survivor, and former English teacher. I moved from the sunshine state (Florida) to North Dakota (Santa’s front yard). Welcome to my blog! From FL to ND follows my adjustment to living in a freezing climate along with my interests in fitness, food, books, family, and (mostly) healthy living.

Disclaimer

I am not a licensed medical professional. All views expressed on this website are based on my own personal research and experiences. Please consult your doctor with any medical issues, or before beginning a training program.